The US multinational will expand the solar and battery energy storage manufacturing capacity at its factory in Tamil Nadu to 9 GW per annum by the end of 2022. The factory manufactures the FlexInverter power conversion solution and the FlexReservoir utility-scale energy storage systems.

The new prototype uses a triple-junction compound design, which sandwiches the solar cell between layers of film. The module is expected to be used in a variety of vehicles, an application that demands high efficiency and lightweight construction. Its conversion efficiency bests that of a similar Sharp module developed in 2016, which notched an efficiency of 31.17%, at the time a world record.

India’s rooftop solar installations increased by 34% year on year in the January-March period, despite a 17% increase in system costs.

Melbourne-based 8 Star Energy has been announced as a distribution partner alongside Germany-based Memodo as world leading battery brand Energizer launches its Energizer Solar PV portfolio across Europe.

Adani Green’s new 390 MW wind-solar project will supply electricity under a 25-year power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI), at a tariff of INR 2.69 ($0.049)/kWh.

JA Solar said the smallest solar panel in its new n-type product line has a power output of 435 W and a power conversion efficiency of 22.3%. The largest module in the series has an efficiency rating of 22.4% and 625 W of nominal power. Their temperature coefficient is -0.30% per degree Celsius.

In other news, Zhonghuan Semiconductor announced it will begin selling 210 mm n-type wafers and the local government in Zhejiang Province said it wants to deploy another 12.4 GW of new PV by 2024.

A new solar power plant will be developed on 2,800 hectares of land near a temple in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is expected to be operational within a year.

Tata Power Solar has secured an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 300 MW solar project under India’s Central Public Sector Undertaking scheme. The project, awarded by state-owned hydropower producer NHPC, will be located in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

It’s disappointing that EV adoption policy in Australia has been put on the back-burner this election, writes Des Hang, CEO and co-founder of Carbar. The concern is that action on this issue will be slow regardless of who gets into power, simply because it’s not generating as much buzz as it should during the campaign.